Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Infoprintsolutions Company, LLC

Ricoh Production Print Solutions LLC

Kenneth Stuart Shouldice

David Ward

Charles D Johnson

Hong Li

Brian Charles Pendleton

John Thomas Varga

Marquis G Waller

Samuel Neely Hopper

Ronald Earl Van Buskirk, Ii

Kent S Norgren

John Barker Condon

Michael Stewart McDermott

Kelly Harr

Colin Reims

Larry Mason Ernst

Nenad Rijavec

Yue Qiao

Joan Stagaman Goddard

Larry David Teklits

John G Milanski

Allan Anthony Hren

Rose Ellen Visoski

Ronald Dean Parrish

Lisa A Morgan

John Forrest Meixel

Rose Nemeth

John W Lamb, Jr

J Wesley Boyes, Jr

Elke M Jones

Roshmi Bhaumik

Karen Harrison Ferrel

Systems and methods are provided for ink estimation. One embodiment is a system for dynamic ink use estimation. The system includes a cloud computing system. The cloud computing system includes a cloud event service able to receive a print job and potential configurations of a printer selected for printing the print job, and to initialize virtual printers for the printer that each correspond with one of the potential configurations. The cloud computing system also includes the virtual printers, which are able to operate in parallel to estimate amounts of ink used for each configuration during printing of the print job, and to store the estimated amounts of ink in a cloud storage.

Cloud-based parallel ink estimation for production printers

Systems and methods are provided for ink estimation. One embodiment is a system for dynamically revising ink estimation models. The system includes a memory storing a virtual machine for instantiating virtual printers that estimate amounts of ink used by a printer for print jobs, and a controller able, for each print job, to: identify estimated amounts of ink determined by the virtual printers according to each of multiple configurations for the printer, and identify a chosen configuration and a corresponding actual amount of ink used by the printer. The controller selects a configuration, determines that estimated amounts of ink for the selected configuration have less than a threshold difference from actual amounts of ink for each of multiple print jobs, and updates an ink estimation model at the virtual machine based on the estimated amounts of ink and corresponding print job data for the selected configuration.

Ink estimation model updates for production printers

System and methods for page alignment for tractorless paper. In one embodiment, an apparatus receives a print job to be printed on a continuous web of print media in a duplex format with multiple first pages across a front of the web and multiple second pages across a back of the web which correspond with the multiple first pages. The apparatus maps pages to sheetlet regions, and applies first offsets to the sheetlet regions on the front of the virtual continuous forms based on operator input. The controller also determines second offsets for the sheetlet regions on the back of the virtual continuous forms based on an additive inverse of the first offsets, and modifies processing of the print job by applying the second offsets to the sheetlet region on the back of the virtual continuous forms to maintain alignment of front pages and back pages across the web.

Page alignment for tractorless paper

Systems and methods are provided for scheduling high priority print jobs with minimal paper waste. One embodiment is a printing system that includes a print controller having a print data path with intermediate queues and a last queue to store print ready bitmap data. The print controller monitors the last queue to determine an estimate time for printing the print ready bitmap data stored in the last queue, determines whether the estimate time exceeds a time threshold, and determines whether a high priority print job is detected in the job storage system. In response to determining that the estimate time exceeds the time threshold and detecting the high priority print job, the print controller halts processing of at least one of the plurality of print jobs that is not the high priority print job, and advances processing of the high priority print job on the print data path.

Scheduling high priority print jobs with minimal print waste

A printer is described. The printer includes a processor. A memory is coupled to the processor. The memory contains instructions that when processed by the processor cause a method to be performed. The method includes presenting a list of printing substitutions on a display. The printing substitutions are each associated with a respective printer profile. The list of printing substitutions identify which ones of the printing substitutions are enabled and which ones of the printing substitutions are disabled. The list also identifies the printer profiles that the substitutions are associated with, wherein at least one printer profile that is not enabled for a current print job is included in the list.

Printer having global substitution list

Methods and systems herein provide for identifying multiple types of media that will be used for print a print job by rasterizing raw print data for the print job. In one embodiment, a print controller receives a print job. The print controller identifies multiple types of media that will be utilized for printing the print job by rasterizing raw print data of the print job. The print controller generates a list of printable media that will be utilized for printing the job based on the multiple types of media that are identified. The print controller then provides the list of printable media to a print operator.

Media determination for a print job from a rasterization process

A system, method and computer program product are disclosed. The method includes, during printing of a print data stream by a print engine, determining whether a graphical user interface has received an instruction representing an operator interrupt and, responsive to determining that the graphical user interface has received the instruction representing the operator interrupt, determining whether a command for a test print operation has been received from the graphical user interface. The method further includes, responsive to determining that the command for the test print operation has been received from the graphical user interface, performing a print of operator test samples and, responsive to determining that the command for the test print operation has been received from the graphical user interface, invoking a non-process runout function to suspend printing of the print data stream by the print engine.

Method and system for on-the-fly diagnostic print methodology

Methods and systems herein provide for the use of virtually stored media 'snapshots' for rasterizing print jobs. In one embodiment, a print controller receives a print job. The print controller identifies a virtually stored media that specifies a media property utilized for rasterizing the print job, where the virtually stored media is associated with a media tray of a printer. The print controller identifies the media property specified by the virtually stored media, and rasterizes the print job based on the media property specified by the virtually stored media.

Utilizing virtually stored media snapshots for rasterizing print jobs

Systems and methods are provided for printer controller, dynamic N-UP print job imaging. An enhanced printer includes features hereof to dynamically adjust parameters of a print job at any point in a print job. In one aspect hereof, the printer configures a print job for an initial set of printing parameters without host system intervention and may reconfigure those parameters during printing of the print job. In another aspect hereof, the adjustments may include adjusting the relative position of any of the N-UP images independent of any other of the N-UP images. Another aspect hereof provides that the formatting of the print job according to printing parameters by the printer occurs after rasterizing the print job into logical page images. Since the formatting is performed after rasterizing, the printing parameters may be changed at any time during printing of the print job.

Printer controlled dynamically altered N-UP imaging

Methods and systems herein provide for allowing color profiles for printers to be determined based on the types of print engines installed at the printer and the types of colorants installed at the printer. In one embodiment, a printing system including a printer is disclosed. The printer comprises a colorant system, a print engine system, and a print controller. The colorant system identifies a type of colorant installed at the printer for printing to a physical media. The print engine system identifies a type of print engine installed at the printer for printing to the media using the colorant. The print controller receives a request for the type of colorant installed at the printer and the type of print engine installed at the printer to allow for a determination of a color profile for the printer.

Color profile determination for printing systems

Methods and systems herein provide for calibrating for a plurality of different paper types. In one embodiment, a system for calibrating a printer includes a measurement module operable to detect colors printed on a first tangible medium by the printer and convert the detected colors to a detected color characterization. The system also includes a storage module operable to store a calibration file. The calibration file includes color characterizations of a plurality of different tangible mediums and each color characterization includes color measurements for one of the plurality of different tangible mediums obtained from the printer via the measurement module when the printer is calibrated. The system also includes a calibration module operable to compare the detected color characterization to at least two color characterizations of the calibration file and determine an adjustment to an output color scheme of the printer based on the comparison to calibrate the printer.

Color printer calibration for multiple mediums

A color adjustment interface includes an original image thumbnail representing a version of an image prior to modification, a current image thumbnail representing a version of an image after a modification and a color polygon including a multitude of variation image thumbnails each representing a color variation. Each selection of a variation image thumbnail modifies the current image thumbnail in an adjustment towards a color represented by the selected variation image.

Color adjustment interface for high speed color printer

Provided are a method, system, and program generating user defined marking settings to print marks to control post-processing devices. A user interface is generated to enable user input to define at least one marking setting comprising a name of the marking setting, a dimension of a marking, and a location of the marking on the print medium. Marking settings control a printer to output markings on a print medium. The outputted markings on the print medium control at least one post processor device to perform post processing operations on the print medium. User input is received from the user interface defining at least one marking setting. The user defined at least one marking setting is stored with an existing set of marking settings to control the printer.

Growing community of inventors

Firestone, CO, United States of America

Kenneth Stuart Shouldice